Hero Spotlight: Pastor Gborie Loves His Neighbors with a Servant’s Heart

August 8, 2017

Some people in leadership positions will “go along to get along,” but true leaders refuse to let go of a vision when they are convicted.

Pastor Aiah Mark Gborie ( pronounced bor-ee) is the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Fellowship, the “mega-church” of Lunsar, Sierra Leone.

Pastor Gborie initially learned about sustainable conservation agriculture techniques during Just Hope’s first training in Lunsar in March of 2016. Because he is adequately supported by his church, Pastor Gborie didn’t need to learn sustainable conservation agricultural techniques for his own use. But as a local leader, he wanted to keep himself aware of everything going on in his community.

During the training, he saw the potential of the methods as a way to reduce generational poverty in his community. He was so convicted by possibility, that he immersed himself in the techniques and planted multiple plots to prove their worth.

True leaders serve others

His church members were not initially as eager to commit their time and land. As a relatively urban church, many of his members do not farm as their primary source of income, though they do have small pieces of land that can be planted.

Despite the lack of interest, Pastor Gborie saw these techniques as a way for his congregants and neighbors to augment their food supply and income, and as an opportunity to teach more people how to provide for themselves. With great faith and humility, Pastor Gborie continued to plant and harvest for months, never giving up on an idea he knew could change the future of his community.

True leaders don’t give up on a vision

After harvesting a few crops of  maize and beans, he finally has attracted the attention of several church members, who have taken an interest and are working with him to learn more. His untiring perseverance is seeing results.

There is beauty and power in the fact that Pastor Gborie is investing so much of his time in planting these plots, not for himself, but the people he knows can be helped. People like Pastor Gborie inspire and uplift us, and strengthen local support that will grow and, inch by inch, make an impact that lasts.

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